Author: Hilton Kean Jones

This repository of tunes from almost 200 years ago is so rich, so contemporary in its emotion, exploring each tune is an experience outside time itself. I’d never heard of this particular tune, The Lone Pilgrim. If it’s not in some hymnal, it’s a shame. Love this song. Love it…

Here’s another tune from the Southern Harmony, and Musical Companion hymnal compiled by William Walker in 1835. This is a hearty, up-tempo tune alternating between minor and major. It’s a lot of fun to play.

The hyman book called Southern Harmony, and Music Companion was compiled by William Walker in 1835. It uses a form of musical notation called shaped note, which my father, born and raised in rural southern Mississippi, learned as a child. I think these songs are some of the best hymn tunes ever written, on a parallel with the great hymn tunes of Europe and the UK. Much simpler, for sure, but incredibly indelible. They demand to be sung. They roll around the mind for hours.

I’m working on a digital album of 15 to 20 of these songs. Here’s the first 6 I’ve done so far:

This week’s Lenten focus is on the German composer and saintly figure, Hildegard of Bingen, so all the music this week is German. A contemporary of the famous J.S. Bach and his cousin, is Johann Gottfried Walther, best known for his many chorale preludes on hymn tunes, of which this is a great example, the tune appearing in the manuals and in the pedals (as you can see performed by Peter Lorre’s “The Hand” video insert).